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Improving Upon Your Call to Action

Having performed outstanding Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you are now enjoying lots of traffic to your website as users look at your products and services. However, despite the sudden surge in traffic you are not seeing a corresponding increase in sales revenue, and it seems that your call to action isn’t converting the new visitors into customers. Therefore, you had better hurry up and make the necessary changes before you lose out on any more sales. (Google Analytics1 will help you determine the best combination of features to achieve this aim.)

To start off, you will need to improve the call to action button. It is important that you position it in an eye-catching place, for example, the top of the page above all the product description and details. Design it using an external editing program, as HTML doesn’t have the full capability for a strong effect. Contrasting colors, which are different from the background, will best attract the user’s attention.2 This color must be appropriate for your call to action – for instance, blue calms and relaxes, whereas red incites and impassions. The call to action button is the most important thing on the page and its size should reflect that – make it bigger. Finally, put a simple message in it like “Buy”, “Sign up”, “Donate”.

The action button must be supported by accurate information to convince the customer and put them at ease. Graphics can be used to summarize complex information, such as changes in electricity consumption, and get across how useful and valuable the product is. Within a few bullet points outline the most important characteristics and customer benefits. Customers are more likely to trust testimonials3 so try to make them as real as possible. Design the whole page to be neat and not cluttered, and leave enough calming colors around for the customer not to feel rushed.

The product description must accurately reflect the benefits, features and overall quality of your product. Briefly describe the company but focus on what the product or service does, how it can help the customer, and why it is better compared to its competitors. Use plain, polite and positive language to persuade your clients. An old sales technique is to mention the feelings generated by the product – e.g. the relief and satisfaction that the washing will do itself. Be passionate and speak directly to the customer. Finally, think of possible concerns for the customer and address them.

The Paradox of Choice4 is something that you should take into account when building your business model. Visitors generally would prefer to make as few choices as possible and giving them more options can actually decrease the number of sales rather than increase them. Simplify your options so that they are completely different and for different customer groups (personal, organizational, corporate). If the product requires more customization, provide a reliable guide so that customers know which option will be best for them. It is wise to leave an option with a personalized quote for bigger customers and to highlight the most popular option.

Repetition is the key to success, as the saying goes, so don’t be afraid to repeat yourself. Put the call to action on all product-related pages but be careful that it does not become too intrusive. Additionally, consider adding price comparison with an emphasis on the savings of bulk buying and a shopping cart for easier navigation. Even more, with a shopping cart you will be able to monitor what mixture of products your customers prefer and offer targeted discounts on that.

In conclusion, make your call to action visible, easy to notice, convincing, reassuring and crystal clear.